(1) Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a method and system for visual object detection and response and, more specifically, to a multi-stage method for generic object detection using cognitive swarms and a system for automated response to the detected objects.
(2) Description of Related Art
Current methods of object detection focus on direct detection of the desired class of objects by searching the entire image window. Such methods substantially fail in detecting highly specific objects, such as a narrow specific-class of a more general-class of objects. A traditional search for a highly specific object, for example, a person in a pose with their arms held vertically upward as would a football referee signaling a touchdown, would require a feature detection algorithm specifically tailored to detecting a person in such a pose. There currently exist object detection algorithms for detecting a human form. Tailoring these algorithms to detect a human form engaged in a specific position would likely be very complex, thereby increasing processing time without a guarantee of accurate results. Such a method is also impractical if the object detection task changes which would require creation of a different highly specific object detection algorithm. As an alternative to creating a highly specific detection algorithm, one could search for the simple double vertical signatures created by the arm position of the object. However, such a method will likely yield a high false alarm rate since it will detect all similar vertical signatures in the scene, including signatures from trees, buildings, and other irrelevant objects.
Thus, a continuing need exists for a method for fast and accurate detection of highly specific objects in large volumes of video imagery.